Word: okun
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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...happens, a classic treatise on these sorts of upsides and downsides of capitalism was written by the same economist who invented the misery index--Arthur Okun, Chairman of Lyndon Johnson's Council of Economic Advisers. In 1975 he published a book called Equality and Efficiency: The Big Tradeoff. Its point was that there is natural tension between the two halves of its title. Redistributive taxation, minimum wages, unemployment insurance and the like may enhance equality, but they impede overall efficiency and growth. Ideology is partly a question of which side of the tradeoff you favor...
...both sides of the ideological spectrum, observers warn against taking Okun's point too far. Those on the right say battling inequality myopically can create inefficiency and more inequality in the long run; welfare, with its disincentives to work, can foster an underclass that steadily recedes from mainstream prosperity. Those on the left say battling inequality farsightedly--via investments in the schooling and health of citizens--can lead to greater equality and greater economic efficiency...
Social Studies Director of Studies Judith E. Vichniac said faculty have not yet decided which new theorists could be studied. But Peretz said the list will likely include feminist authors such as Nancy Chodorov and Susan Okun...